Do You Need Digestive Enzymes?

November 12, 2012

Digestive enzymes refer to substances that are mainly secreted by the small intestine and the stomach. Basically, after your teeth and saliva have softened your food, the enzymes inside of your stomach will start to break down. As the food moves into the small intestine, your pancreas gland will make more enzymes to help get the job done. Overall, digestion is very important for the body, though, since you won’t be able to absorb enough nutrients without it.

Would Digestive Enzymes be Recommended for You?

Detected through signs of vitamin or mineral deficiency or through tests, your doctor might ask you to take these digestive enzymes if you have a low output from the pancreas or the stomach. If you have a low mineral count – maybe in magnesium or iron – you might need help with digestion, too. On that note, diseases like cystic fibrosis might result in an insufficient pancreatic output of these enzymes, as well.

Signs that You Might Have Digestive Problems

Bloating after eating

Loose bowels

Undigested food in stools

Food not breaking down properly

Food feeling stagnant inside of the stomach

If you always feel bloated after eating then this probably means that you aren’t digesting your food properly. If this is the case, then your food might get dragged through your bowels while waiting to break down and this is what causes the bloating. Digestive enzymes would be able to speed up your digestion to ensure that your food does not stay stagnant inside your stomach. If your digestion is incredibly bad, then your food might get pushed through the bowes too fast. Since it doesn’t know what the substances are supposed to do, it will simply secrete them. This is how loose bowels come about. Patients who usually see undigested food in their stools should take these enzymes into consideration since their food clearly doesn’t break down properly after being eaten.

Does Everybody Need These Enzymes?

As with other supplements out there, not everybody will need to take digestive enzymes, though. However, if you have a very low digestive output, these enzymes may provide significant relief for your symptoms. To start, take two capsules after every meal. If you have a history of intestinal or stomach ulcers, though, then make sure you ask your doctor for a go-ahead first. This will ensure that you don’t make the problems worse or make new unnecessary problems appear.